State Champ Radio Author: djfrosty
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After weeks of ICE terrorizing Brown and Black communities in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, it seems like they’ve turned their attention to the Big Apple. Earlier this week, the Gestapo arm of this Trump administration carried out a sudden operation in New York’s famed Canal Street in downtown Manhattan.
Just days after right-wing influencer Savanah Hernandez complained about the “migrant” street vendors out and about in the famous section of New York City, ICE showed up and began arresting people in the street who were selling knockoff merchandise, as they’ve been doing so for decades.
According to Gothamist, more than two dozen “federal agents” invaded Canal Street Tuesday (Oct. 20) and began rounding up anyone with dark skin and asking them for documentation. Luckily, one man was able to provide proof that he was actually a U.S. citizen, and after being let go began cursing out his “arresting officers” as they walked away to look for other suspected illegal migrants.
Per Gothamist:
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Late Tuesday evening, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the raid was “a targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” that was “focused on criminal activity relating to selling counterfeit goods.” McLaughlin said the effort included multiple federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS-CI and Customs and Border Protection.
“During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement,” she said. “Already one rioter has been arrested for assault on a federal officer.”
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department was not involved in the operation.
Unfortunately for ICE, they were met with strong resistance from everyday New Yorkers who loudly shamed them, flipped them off and even kicked their vehicles, as it’s become apparent to many Americans that this is nothing more than an ethnic cleansing perpetuated by a blatantly fascist Trump administration.
Still, Donald Trump promised more surprise ICE raids similar to that of Canal Street would be coming to New York City, as he needs more red meat to feed to his ever-dwindling MAGA base.
What do y’all think about the growing ICE raids and outrage from Americans over it? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Gains from self-paying subscribers almost equally offset losses from partnerships as French music streaming company Deezer’s revenue fell 0.9% to 131.4 million euros ($154 million) in the third quarter, the company announced Thursday (Oct. 23).
“Subscriber growth in France has accelerated for a third consecutive quarter, confirming the positive impact of our differentiation initiatives in our home market,” CEO Alexis Lanternier said in a statement. “In the rest of the world, subscription numbers in the Direct segment are also picking up pace, reflecting the quality of our service and the appeal of our brand as we champion transparency and fairness in music streaming.
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Revenue from partnerships fell 12.6% to 35.6 million euros ($42 million) and subscribers from these partnerships dropped 24.5% from the prior-year quarter. Deezer powers music streaming platforms for numerous companies globally and counts these partnership subscribers separately from subscribers who pay directly. The company attributed the loss in its partnerships business to “the residual impact” of a business model shift by Mercado Libre, a Latin America e-commerce company that partnered with Deezer in 2023. A focus on higher average revenue per user (ARPU) also contributed to the decline in partnership subscribers, the company said.
Direct subscribers grew in number to 5.5 million, up nearly 10%, and direct subscription revenue increased 1.6% to 87.9 million euros ($103 million). France accounted for 3.7 million of those direct subscribers, an 11.7% increase from the prior-year period, which the company attributed to “good performance” of family plans. Direct subscribers from the rest of the world rose 6.1% to 1.8 million.
ARPU from direct subscribers fell nearly 5% to 5.4 euros ($6.31) per month. Partnership ARPU rose 6% to 3.1 euros ($3.62) per month.
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Other revenue, which consists of advertising and ancillary revenue, rose 17.4% to 7.9 million euros ($9.2 million). Deezer said the improvement “mainly reflected the performance of the white labelling solutions for hardware / media partners.”
While relatively small compared to the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, Deezer has attempted to separate itself from its competitors by making combating AI music a business priority. In September, the company revealed that it detected the delivery of over 30,000 fully AI-generated tracks each day. That accounts for 28% of all daily track uploads, up from 18% in April and 10% in January. These fully AI-generated tracks are eliminated from Deezer’s algorithmic recommendations and excluded from editorial playlists.
Looking ahead, Deezer confirmed its full-year guidance in which it expects positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and positive free cash flow for the second consecutive year.
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The legal battle between A$AP Relli and A$AP Rocky is continuing on despite Rocky’s acquittal on charges of shooting his former friend and associate this past February.
On Thursday (Oct. 23), a judge in Los Angeles refused to throw out the civil defamation lawsuit brought by Relli (Terrell Ephron) stemming from the alleged altercation with Rocky (Rakim Mayers) near a Hollywood hotel in 2021.
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Relli alleges that Rocky fired a handgun at him twice during their argument, while Rocky maintains that the “weapon” was a prop gun filled with blanks. Prosecutors charged Rocky with two felony assault counts in 2022, but he was acquitted of both criminal charges following a sensational trial this year.
Still, Relli is continuing to claim that Rocky shot him in a civil lawsuit that he brought around the same time as his former A$AP Mob collaborator’s arrest. That case, in which Relli seeks financial damages from Rocky for assault, battery and emotional distress, is scheduled to go to trial in January.
Relli separately brought a defamation lawsuit in 2023 against both Rocky and his criminal defense lawyer, Joe Tacopina. Relli says the duo smeared his name when Tacopina gave press interviews calling Relli’s shooting claims “extortion” and a “get-rich-quick-scheme.”
Rocky and Tacopina sought to get the defamation suit thrown out under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which guards against frivolous litigation that threatens free speech. But Judge Randolph M. Hammock ruled Thursday that Relli’s slander claims don’t meet this standard for dismissal.
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Judge Hammock said Rocky and Tacopina cannot rely on a principle known as the litigation privilege, which provides a complete free speech shield for statements made in court proceedings, because the lawyer’s media interviews were given “to shape the public opinion” rather than advance any legal position. The judge also determined that Relli’s defamation claim is not “meritless” under the anti-SLAPP guardrails.
“For purposes of this motion, plaintiff has established all elements of his defamation claims,” wrote the judge. “Plaintiff submits evidence that Tacopina published statements to media outlets, in essence contending that plaintiff fabricated the incident with Mayers then filed the lawsuit to force a payout.”
“Plaintiff refutes this in his declaration, as he attests that Mayers fired a handgun and struck him in the hand,” continues Judge Hammock’s decision. “He establishes that Tacopina’s statements were defamatory, as they labeled Ephron a liar and extortionist. Finally, Ephron established that these statements caused him damages. For purposes of this motion, plaintiff has met his burden.”
Relli has not actually won on any defamation claims yet, but the lawsuit moved past a major obstacle in Thursday’s ruling. Now, the matter will continue forward through evidence discovery and toward a possible trial.
Relli’s lawyers declined to comment on Thursday. Reps for Rocky and Tacopina did not immediately return requests for comment.
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A Washington, D.C., man who was detained after playing the Evil Empire music from Star Wars to protest National Guard troops is suing the government for violating his constitutional rights.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday (Oct. 23), Sam O’Hara claims that he was wrongfully handcuffed and detained for playing “The Imperial March” — John Williams’ iconic villain music from the sci-fi franchise — as he recorded videos of the troops that he later posted to TikTok.
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The case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), claims the brief detention violated O’Hara’s right to peacefully protest under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
“The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the ACLU wrote, playing on the famed opening text from Star Wars. “But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests.”
“The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme),” written by Williams, first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 sequel to the original Star Wars. The famed composer’s score for the film reached the No. 4 spot on the Billboard 200 in July 1980, eventually spending 28 weeks on the chart.
“In the Star Wars franchise, The Imperial March is the music that plays when Darth Vader or other dark forces enter a scene or succeed in their dastardly plans,” O’Hara’s lawyers write. “It is also the soundtrack of Sam O’Hara’s protest against the National Guard deployment in D.C.”
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President Donald Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., in August and ordered the takeover of law enforcement in the city, with National Guard troops arriving in the capital shortly thereafter. The move, along with other military deployments to American cities, has been deeply controversial and led to widespread protests.
O’Hara, who was “deeply concerned about the normalization of troops patrolling D.C. neighborhoods,” began protesting their presence in his city by walking behind them as they marched through the streets — and by playing a score recognized globally as a theme for tyranny.
“Using his phone and sometimes a small speaker, he played The Imperial March as he walked, keeping the music at a volume that was audible but not blaring,” the ACLU’s lawyers write. “Mr. O’Hara recorded the encounters and posted the videos on his TikTok account, where millions of people have viewed them.”
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According to O’Hara, most National Guardsmen “ignored Mr. O’Hara, and a few smiled or laughed,” but one was “not amused by this satire.” The trooper, Sgt. Devon Beck, allegedly turned around and threatened to call in local police to “handle” him if he kept playing the song. When O’Hara kept going, he says Metropolitan Police Department officers quickly arrived and put him in cuffs, shutting down his protest.
O’Hara says the cuffs were placed so tightly that they left marks on his wrists, and were not loosened after he complained. He also says his detention was “needlessly” prolonged before he was eventually released 15 to 20 minutes later.
In technical terms, the lawsuit names Beck, four D.C. police officers, and the D.C. District Attorney as defendants. It accuses them of violating both the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures.
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There are three things guaranteed in life: death, paying taxes, & 50 Cent trolling.
The newest flame he threw more gasoline on is Nicki Minaj’s ongoing issue with Jay-Z. Fif has absolutely no picks, per usual. Under a recent AI-generated video of Jay-Z in a bikini dancing to Whitney Houston’s “I’m Every Woman”.
One thing about Nicki Lewinski is that once she starts, she will never stop beefing with you.
Now 50 Cent is with all the sheniagans and found the AI video of Hov hilariois. He chose to egg it on by commenting, “LOL wtf did they do to [Nicki], I like when she get mad.”
Nicki Minaj has been trolling Hov and Roc Nation for a while now. Boiling over to the Queen deciding to put her album on pause, “Ok, I’m not going to put out the album anymore. No more music. Hope you’re happy now. Bye, Barbs. Love you for life.” Sending even some indirect shots at Hov in the process, “They came BEGGING the QUEEN for a tour & album & I said NOPE!!!!! LMFAO. Wanted to patch it up. They needed help from the QUEEN & the BARBZ. I called the Barbz on the secret BARB phone & it was resounding NOOOOOOOO. Just like the casinoooooooooo”.
The “casinooooo” fans alleged Nicki is referring to is Jay’s lost bid to have a casino in NYC.
